Michigan Tech Among Hosts of Midwest Rail Conference

The Michigan Technological University Rail Transportation Program, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and a group of organizers are hosting the Midwest Rail Conference (MRC) in August.

Formerly the Michigan Rail Conference, this newly-expanded program now has a regional focus with co-organizers, like the Freight Rail Transportation Committee (AR040) of the Transportation Research Board and the National University Rail Center (NURail).

AR040 also is bringing their Summerail 2017 event, and NURail will add their annual meeting to the event. The theme of this year’s conference is “Midwest Connections: Passenger and Freight Rail Look to the Future!” #MWRailConference.

The conference gathers rail industry representatives and supporters to discuss issues and opportunities for Midwest rail activity. This year’s conference will be held from Aug. 15-17 at the Fetzer Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

There will be technical presentations, panel discussions and a networking reception. Joseph McHugh, senior vice president and chief for Amtrak Government Affairs and Corporate Communications will provide the keynote address.

The conference is open to anyone interested in the rail industry, but should be of particular interest to federal, state and local government representatives, transportation industry professionals, colleges and universities, the interested public, students and the media.

The conference organizing committee is offering students a limited number of scholarships to cover the conference registration and field trip fees. The early bird registration rate has been extended until Friday June, 30.

Detailed conference information and links for registration can be found on the conference website, http://rail.mtu.edu/event/mrc2017.

For more information regarding the conference, contact David Nelson dannelso@mtu.edu. To register contact alkerttu@mtu.edu.